Old guy just starting out and could use some help

OK....so I'm going to be 53 and finally got over my thinking of after shaving it is all about the sting and not the stink when you put something on your face. Yes sorry to say after 37 years the O)ld Spice after shave has hit the trash bin. Not only has this surprised, no shocked, my wife but it has put my children into the position of having the old stand by of giving a bottle of Old Spice for Christmas , birthday or Fathers Day come to an end.
It all started after I expressed the mere idea of cologne and the next day my wife showed up with a bottle of "Le Male", naturally the bottle was an eye roll but after 28 years of marriage when the wife says just try it ...you do. Well I was shocked....could it be I ACTUALLY liked what came out of this very strange bottle? No...it is not possible...yet I found myself wearing it again and again. So I have given in and I am attempting to build a base of colognes but I need a bit of help.

I have been on the hunt and smelled countless cologne as well as containers of coffe beans. I have found I like a subtle but long lasting colognes. I have built a very small and after reading the information on basenotes, I find a very basic collection.
I currently have the following;
Jean Paul Gaultier - Le Male
Davidoff - Cool Waters
Armani - Code (code black)
Nautica - Oceans
Beckham - Instinct ( not a big fan, bought a small bottle for a few bucks on a whim)

Any suggestions for additions would be welcome, I have seen many on here liking Creed however I'm not quite ready to spend $200- $300 for a bottle yet....remember I just tossed the Old Spice.

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

Welcome to Basenotes! I would stick to some of the classics to try first. You can sample from a dept. store, if you live in a larger city or buy samples cheaply on websites like my perfume samples, lucky scent, surrender to chance to name a few. I recommend that you sample in whatever way a fragrance before you buy it or you may end up with something you don't like and wasted money.
I would recommend these and these are only a few of many:

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

after 28 years of marriage when the wife says just try it ...you do. Well I was shocked....could it be I ACTUALLY liked what came out of this very strange bottle?

This sounds like me. I came home with a bottle of Azzaro Pour Homme for my husband and said, "Try it, I think you'll like it!" He did. Congrats on being adventurous!

From what you've already listed, you may also like Dior Homme, Versace Man Eau Fraiche, and YSL L'Homme, all easily found at Sephora. (And don't be shy about asking them--or having your wife ask-- to make up some samples of anything you'd like to try.)

Bvlgari Pour Homme is also a nice scent (despite the panning it seems to get on the men's forums) and can be had in the $20-30 range at discounters like TJ Maxx/Marshalls/Ross.

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

Originally Posted by belt2606

OK....so I'm going to be 53 and finally got over my thinking of after shaving it is all about the sting and not the stink when you put something on your face. Yes sorry to say after 37 years the O)ld Spice after shave has hit the trash bin. Not only has this surprised, no shocked, my wife but it has put my children into the position of having the old stand by of giving a bottle of Old Spice for Christmas , birthday or Fathers Day come to an end.
It all started after I expressed the mere idea of cologne and the next day my wife showed up with a bottle of "Le Male", naturally the bottle was an eye roll but after 28 years of marriage when the wife says just try it ...you do. Well I was shocked....could it be I ACTUALLY liked what came out of this very strange bottle? No...it is not possible...yet I found myself wearing it again and again. So I have given in and I am attempting to build a base of colognes but I need a bit of help.

I have been on the hunt and smelled countless cologne as well as containers of coffe beans. I have found I like a subtle but long lasting colognes. I have built a very small and after reading the information on basenotes, I find a very basic collection.
I currently have the following;
Jean Paul Gaultier - Le Male
Davidoff - Cool Waters
Armani - Code (code black)
Nautica - Oceans
Beckham - Instinct ( not a big fan, bought a small bottle for a few bucks on a whim)

Any suggestions for additions would be welcome, I have seen many on here liking Creed however I'm not quite ready to spend $200- $300 for a bottle yet....remember I just tossed the Old Spice.

Thanks,

Good for you! If you live near a Nordstrom's go there and get some samples at the men's fragrance dept. In fact, pick up samples wherever you can. That's what I do because I don't want to waste my $ on something I won't wear. If you haven't already looked at the men's forum then you ought to investigate it for some good recommendations.

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

Welcome!

Your current collection seems to go from sweetish barbershoppy (Le Male) to fresh (esp. Cool water and Instinct). I second many of the previous suggestions, especially Egoiste (warm sandalwood - note: the regular Egoiste, not platinum egoiste). I would add the Aramis range, which I think is quite solid and has a good price. Examples are Aramis 900 (resinous, patchouli), Tuscany (herbal), and the regular Aramis (macho leather).

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

I am in the same age group so I think you might like Canali Style or any other from the Canali line-up; Declaration from Cartier is another consideration. If you live near enough to a L'Occitane shop, or don't mind buying on-line, then Eau des Baux is quite nice, and Chanel Allure Edition Blanche may also suit your style. Good hunting!

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

There seemed to be some back-and-forth over whether Angel Men or Le Male was better. I'm assuming there are various similarities, but it might not hurt to try it A*Men out. I think it's hard to come by, though, so if you cannot find it to sample it, it might be a moot point or a potentially disastrous blind buy...

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

Hi there,

I really like the first 3 scents you listed, they are one of the best around. Haven't tried the others yet I think. You might want to test these generally well-regarded ones below, I just have a feeling you might enjoy them, I personally do :

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

Thanks for all the feed back and the suggestions. I am excited to try out some different colognes. I already sent away for some samples of the suggestions. It will be interesting to branch out and see what I find interesting.

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

Originally Posted by hednic

Eau Sauvage by Dior

+1. Classic fresh. Lemon and herb.

Originally Posted by southerngardens

Welcome to Basenotes! I would stick to some of the classics to try first. You can sample from a dept. store, if you live in a larger city or buy samples cheaply on websites like my perfume samples, lucky scent, surrender to chance to name a few. I recommend that you sample in whatever way a fragrance before you buy it or you may end up with something you don't like and wasted money. Sample sample sample!
I would recommend these and these are only a few of many:

Habit Rouge by Guerlain
Vetiver or Vetiver Exreme by Guerlain
Egoiste by ChanelSample first. These may have the same quality in Old Spice you are not fond of.
Terre D Hermes by HermesIf you like amber/orange, this is good.
Rive Gauche Pour Homme by Yves Saint Laurent
Kouros by Yves Saint LaurentThese two are classic without being old.
Fahrenheit Absolute by Diordifferent. sample first
Burberry London by Burberrya basenotes favorite. christmas in a bottle, now with even more tobacco!
Prada Amber POur Homme Intense by Pradaamber
Opium Pour Homme by Yves Saint Laurenttoo close to Old Spice

These should give you a good start, I hope. Please come back anytime for help or just to join in the conversations!

Originally Posted by noirdrakkar

If you like Le Male, try:
- Angel Men
- Pure Malt
- L'Instant de Guerlain
- Midnight In Paris very Le Male
- Versace Dreamer
- One Milliona lot of other gourmands, but sweeter
Since you are older, I think you can pull off these masculine scents:
- YSL Rive Gauche
- Chanel Egoiste
- Dior Eau Savage
- YSL M7

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

Encre noire is one you can find for a good price. Its totally different than most of your collection, but its worth checking out as a grown man. Terre d'hermes is seconded here. Geir ness and gendarme are good, as is mugler cologne. Canali style is seconded, as is the third man.

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

I was in my late 30's when my wife got me interested in fragrances and I became an addict overnight. I think the biggest mistake I made (we all did it) was to buy a bunch of inexpensive/less expensive fragrances that I thought smelled good, rather than find a few that I felt really smelled great (regardless of thier price tags). Now I have drawers full of designer frags that I don't wear that often when I could have spent that money on the ones that I am now lusting after. If you like subtle scents and decide that you want to jump on the Creed bandwagon (I'm on it too) I would grab a bottle of Green Irish Tweed. You have to be careful with Creed because there are a lot of fakes being sold on the Internet, but there are some very reputable discountes on the net as well. I just bought a bottle from Beauty Encounter and could not be happier about the purchase. It cost about 1/3 of what the big retailers would have charged me and it was fresh juice - brand new and perfect.

I should add that many people feel that Green Irish Tweed smells very similar to Cool Water (composed by the same perfumer), so I would not want you to buy it then be disappointed that they smell somewhat alike. I think Green Irish Tweed is far superior to Cool Water, but that is just my opinion.

Buy some good stuff now and I guarantee that you won't regret it later.

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

eau sauvage definately. i tend to give my father my leftovers and he's 65 but will wear anything.for budget scents check out the fujiyama series and also the perry ellis 360 series especially red and black. all of these are under 25 bucks for the huge bottles 3.4 oz except the eau sauvage. also the body shop's white musk and white musk sport are great values..

Re: Old guy just starting out and could use some help

Just so you know, many Basenoters consider Old Spice to be a wonderful classic fragrance. So, there is no shame in enjoying inexpensive fragrances that our fathers and grandfathers used to wear. So don't throw out all your Old Spice - guaranteed that you will want to come back to it every once in a while to reminisce. I love the stuff!

Originally Posted by belt2606

OK....so I'm going to be 53 and finally got over my thinking of after shaving it is all about the sting and not the stink when you put something on your face. Yes sorry to say after 37 years the O)ld Spice after shave has hit the trash bin. Not only has this surprised, no shocked, my wife but it has put my children into the position of having the old stand by of giving a bottle of Old Spice for Christmas , birthday or Fathers Day come to an end.
It all started after I expressed the mere idea of cologne and the next day my wife showed up with a bottle of "Le Male", naturally the bottle was an eye roll but after 28 years of marriage when the wife says just try it ...you do. Well I was shocked....could it be I ACTUALLY liked what came out of this very strange bottle? No...it is not possible...yet I found myself wearing it again and again. So I have given in and I am attempting to build a base of colognes but I need a bit of help.

I have been on the hunt and smelled countless cologne as well as containers of coffe beans. I have found I like a subtle but long lasting colognes. I have built a very small and after reading the information on basenotes, I find a very basic collection.
I currently have the following;
Jean Paul Gaultier - Le Male
Davidoff - Cool Waters
Armani - Code (code black)
Nautica - Oceans
Beckham - Instinct ( not a big fan, bought a small bottle for a few bucks on a whim)

Any suggestions for additions would be welcome, I have seen many on here liking Creed however I'm not quite ready to spend $200- $300 for a bottle yet....remember I just tossed the Old Spice.